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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: board · squash · fall · rule · wind · press · club · sharp

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. rule — government
  3. fall — to drop
  4. press — to push
  5. squash — the sport
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — a law
  8. club — a group
  9. squash — to crush
  10. wind — moving air
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. press — newspapers
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. sharp — clever
  15. club — for golf
  16. press — a publisher
  17. board — a committee
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fall — to drop
  20. club — for dancing
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. fall — the season
  23. board — to get on
  24. sharp — exactly

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com